Each time any hockey player tries to move up to the next level of
competition, a transition in intensity is required. Goaltenders in
particular must adapt to faster shots and quicker, more agile
puckcarriers. Unfortunately, many goalies fail in their attempt to
survive at higher levels of competition because they have not
trained intensely enough during practice. Very often you see goalies
who wear their top of the line equipment very well. They "look" like
they should be very talented until they are required to make a quick
lateral save attempt. To avoid being over-matched by the shooters,
goalies must realize that they must train for explosive save
moments. If they just sit back and watch as players attack rebounds
or make quick cross crease dekes. The goalies will not be able to
match the shooter move for move. Let's look at different types of
save situations that require practice intensity.

Rebound Control

Goalies have a small window of opportunity on rebounds. Most goalies
subconsciously retreat from the puck after making a save. This extra
foot or two of space allows the shooter the room to deke around the
goalie. This extra space the goalie gives up is difficult to take
back. Goalies need to practice quick feet in practice and take a
step towards the rebound. This explosive step moves the goalies body
into the space the shooter is trying to take advantage of with his
peripheral vision. When the puck rebounds away from the goalie, the
shooter takes his eyes off the goalie to retrieve the puck. When the
goalie takes a step towards the puck while the shooter tries to
retrieve it, the shooting angle is virtually non-existent. This is
an explosive step & the goalie must be in a set position before the
shooter releases the puck.

Another explosive aspect of rebound control is the freezing of the
puck when it is shot directly at the goalie's stick. Even
professional and collegiate goalies are sloppy when it comes to
freezing loose pucks. Think of all the give away rebound
opportunities during the course of a whole season on plays where the
goalie coughed up the puck unnecessarily. This happens a lot because
rebounds are not played out in most practice drills and goalies take
tying the puck up for granted. To practice this, I have adapted the
OUT game from basketball. The OUT rebound game teaches shooters to
move their feet on rebounds and goalies to freeze the puck
aggressively or explosively attack their rebounds. The shooter
starts with a puck in the high slot, takes a couple of steps towards
the goalie and shoots the puck 3/4 speed to the goalies leg pads to
create a rebound. The shooter then tries to grab the rebound and
make a quick deke to put the puck in the net. If the shooter scores,
the goalie gets the letter "O". If the goalie freezes the loose puck
or stuffs the shooter on the rebound, the shooter gets the "O". The
same shooter and goalie continue playing with the new pucks until
one player gets O-U-T and loses. The analogy I make when introducing
this overspeed rebound game is that goalies are like english muffins
and the puck is butter. Butter flows into the nooks and crannies
just like the puck hides out in nooks and crannies of the goalie's
body. Shooters must stop at the net and see if the goalie actually
has the puck tied up. Goalies must learn to make sure they have the
puck frozen. This game can get very competitive.

Explosive Pad Saves

Pad saves have been made very popular by many NHL goalies. The
mistake that many youth, high school or college goalies make is when
they drop deep in the crease without attacking into the puckcarriers
point of release. Butterfly or paddle-down pad saves must be done by
shutting down the gap of space from the shooter to the goalie. These
saves are made primarily on dekes and rebounds in the goalmouth or
lower slot areas. Goalies must be in top physical anaerobic
condition to handle the explosive nature of these saves. A goalie
who merely flops while staying in place deep in the crease is not a
threat. A goalie who moves his or her feet to stay with the deke or
pass and attacks the pads towards the release of the puck will be
quite successful. To practice this explosive power with pad saves,
you may run the following drills.

Drill 1 -
Place 8 pucks in an arc so 4 pucks are on 1 side of the crease
(about 4 feet from the arc) and 4 pucks are on the other side. The
goalie starts off on the right post and a shooter starts on the goal
line next to the right post. On a whistle, the shooter skates to the
first puck on the right side while the goalie explodes to the top of
the crease on the right side. The shooter turns, one-times the puck
and returns to the goal line. The goalie makes a butterfly or
paddle-down pad save and hustles back to the post. The players
repeat until the four pucks have been played on the right side. They
then immediately go to the left side and repeat the drill until
those 4 pucks have been played. This is a very tiring, explosive pad
drill for the goalie. This teaches taking away the angle from the
shooter and eliminating the gap of space the shooter would have to
find room to score. The explosive nature of the pad saves will
smother the one-timer.

Drill 2 - Face-off Circle Series - Move the net to the bottom of the face-off
circle. The following drills will be done in 30 second bursts so the
intensity will be high from the goalie and the shooter. Switch
goalies and shooters at the end of each 30 second series.

#1: Turnaround Drill (30 Seconds) - Coach is at the top of the
circle with pucks. Shooter stands on the face-off dot, facing the
coach, with his back to the goalie. Coach passes puck to shooter who
quickly turns to one side while moving the feet and shoots a
one-timer. The goalie must turn into the save and make a pad save.
The rebound is played out inside the circle until it is scored or
the goalie ties it up. The coach keeps feeding the puck until the 30
seconds is up.

#2: Rapid Fire Dekes (30 Seconds) - Pucks are on the hashmarks on
both sides of the circle. The shooter starts at one side with a puck
and moves feet across the net to deke. Rebounds are played inside
the circle until it is frozen or scored. Repeat from the other side.
Shooter alternates sides for 30 seconds. The goalie works hard to
stay under a stick length away from each deke. (Note: Very tiring).

#3: Rapid Fire Stuffs (30 Seconds) - The shooter has the pucks
behind the goalie in the face-off circle. On whistle, the shooter
fakes as he comes out from behind the goal line and dekes across the
goalmouth. Playout all rebounds and alternate sides. Goalie must
make pad saves at the release of the stick at the top of the crease
area, not back on the goal line.

#4: Rapid Fire One-Timers (30 Seconds) - The coach is behind the net
with pucks while shooter does figure 8s in slot, always facing the
net. The coach will pass the puck when the shooter is square to the
net. The shooter pulls the trigger and plays out the rebound if
there is one. The goalie must explode into the pad save, but know
whether the shooter is a left or right hand shot. The goalie must
attack the pads to the stick blade while keeping the hands up to
protect the upper corners. The goalie alternates starting from each
side with each pass from the coach.

Explosive goaltending comes from over-speed save techniques in
practice. If the goalie speeds his or her training time standing
flat-footed, don't be disappointed about poor results in games.